Money, money,money and then more money. The world today is in a crazy frenzy of earning more and hoarding it. The means to earn may differ from person to person, may range to legal to illegal, may involve no physical activity or extreme manual labour but at the end of the day , we need money to drool over. the disparity between the rich and the poor has made each one of us blind and oblivious to the fact that hoarding money wont build us a castle in Heaven, it wont even guarantee Heaven. The eventual end of all of us is this very earth in which we all would be laid down and there wont be any distinction between the earth of a rich man's grave and that of a poor man. no money, no wealth will make our stay in that grave any easy. But hoarding money and earning it through wrong means might make our stay there unbearably painful. we save up our entire lives, being miserly about spending it on our family or ourselves but one day death simply parts us from our saved treasures. We dont get to see it,spend it or be proud of all the money we had saved up once we are sleeping in that grave. save up for the children's education, their marriage or any other legitimate reason but do not save up to the extent of being miserly in spending in charity. What Allah blesses us with , it should be shared with the less fortunate of the society as well. And remembering that whatever we have today it's not because we are better than the rest but it's only because Allah decided to bless us with it. Just as providing for us is a piece of cake for Him, similarly it wont take even a millisecond for Him to take it all away. So arrogance and haughtiness has definitely no role in our religion. Humility is a characteristic much loved and appreciated by Allah and it is He after all Whom we aim to please and not anyone else.
the disparity between the rich and the poor is increasing at such an alarming rate that it's no wonder we are blinded by the glitz and glamour of the materialistic world. we all want a three storey house even though there are just 3 people in the house, we all want to own several cars even though only one person knows how to drive in the family. there is no harm in desiring materialistic things but when the desires reach the level of obsession the humans tend to forgo the concept of right and wrong, islamic and unislamic, moral and immoral. and that's when the trouble starts for us in this world and if we are not careful the troubles may extend to the next one as well. blinded and intoxicated by these desires the goals and aims of our life slowly turn into one sole objective of gaining as much money as is possible and in the process we cease to remember our Lord, thank Him for the blessings.
Our religion does not condemn striving for a good living, it does not condemn earning well to provide a healthy and respectable life for your family, it does not condemn looking for a well paid job(as long as the nature of the business is permissible) that satisfies the needs and even some luxuries as desired by the earner and his family and neither does our religion condemn spending money on ourselves and on our families. But an obsession of anything is bound to lead us astray. Obsession of money stops us from giving charity (zakat and sadqa) which is an explicit denial of one of the important Commandments of Allah. we have a tendency to take everything to a certain extreme missing out on the fact that islam is the most balanced religion without even a hint of extremism in it. People in our society tend to believe that doing a 9-5 job is against the principles of Islam and rather we are supposed to spend that time preaching islam and studying it. that's one form of extremism while the other form talks about earning money through any means without any care for it being legal,illegal,islamic or unislamic. Islam lies in between both these extremist thoughts. it tells us to earn our livelihood through halal(permissible) means and this includes a 9-5 job as well as long as the nature of the business,dealings of the business and code of conducting the business is permissible. But at the same time we are told not to get so obsessed with out work and earning livelihood that we forget to remember the Creator who blessed us with the job in the first place, who gave us the opportunity to earn. Who says we cannot remember our Lord while at job? Dont give up on the obligatory prayers that fall during the work hours, be aware that Allah is watching before engaging in a wrong deed, realize that Allah can hear us before being rude and disrespectful to a collegue,a client or the boss and just be aware that Allah is All-Knowing,All-Seeing and All-Hearing and we have managed to remember Him even at work.
the Quran says:
As a writer once wrote:
Resist the urge to "keep up with the Jameels"
The Jameels got a new house. But then the Syeds got a bigger one. In response the Sakrs got a mansion. And the cycle continues. This kind of competition for material things is another example of material enslavement. Resist the urge to keep up with the Jameels or anyone else for that matter. If the pressure is too intense, consider widening your circle of friends to those who don't base their relationship with you on how much money you make or how many cars you have.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: A time will come upon the people when one will not care how one gains one's money, legally or illegally. (Bukhari)
It is reported by Jabir that the Prophet said: The flesh and body that is raised on unlawful sustenance shall not enter Paradise. Hell is more deserving to the flesh that grows on one's body out of unlawful sustenance. (Ahmad).
Abu Said related that the Prophet said: The truthful and trustworthy businessman will be in the company of Prophets, saints and martyrs on the Day of Judgment. (Darimi, Tirmidhi)
let us not be a slave to materialism, let us not be blinded by the obsession for money. If we have ample of it, lets share it with the less fortunate ones of the society and spend it well on ourselves as well but do not forget that it is He Who blessed us with it, He may as well take it all away when He desires. spend well on the family and on your ownself but do not go beyond your capacity. If you cant afford the latest model of Corolla then be thankful with the cultus you have, if it's not in your capacity to build a three storey house in the most posh area of the city then be grateful for the appartment you have. competing for materialistic stuff and trying to belittle others by always aiming to get the more expensive commodity then the competing rival, makes us shallow minded and blind to the realities of life. let's just try to improve our standard of living but lets avoid trying to make our standards above those of xyz and abc family. Earn good and earn right and we will all be able to live well and eat right.
God bless:)
the disparity between the rich and the poor is increasing at such an alarming rate that it's no wonder we are blinded by the glitz and glamour of the materialistic world. we all want a three storey house even though there are just 3 people in the house, we all want to own several cars even though only one person knows how to drive in the family. there is no harm in desiring materialistic things but when the desires reach the level of obsession the humans tend to forgo the concept of right and wrong, islamic and unislamic, moral and immoral. and that's when the trouble starts for us in this world and if we are not careful the troubles may extend to the next one as well. blinded and intoxicated by these desires the goals and aims of our life slowly turn into one sole objective of gaining as much money as is possible and in the process we cease to remember our Lord, thank Him for the blessings.
Our religion does not condemn striving for a good living, it does not condemn earning well to provide a healthy and respectable life for your family, it does not condemn looking for a well paid job(as long as the nature of the business is permissible) that satisfies the needs and even some luxuries as desired by the earner and his family and neither does our religion condemn spending money on ourselves and on our families. But an obsession of anything is bound to lead us astray. Obsession of money stops us from giving charity (zakat and sadqa) which is an explicit denial of one of the important Commandments of Allah. we have a tendency to take everything to a certain extreme missing out on the fact that islam is the most balanced religion without even a hint of extremism in it. People in our society tend to believe that doing a 9-5 job is against the principles of Islam and rather we are supposed to spend that time preaching islam and studying it. that's one form of extremism while the other form talks about earning money through any means without any care for it being legal,illegal,islamic or unislamic. Islam lies in between both these extremist thoughts. it tells us to earn our livelihood through halal(permissible) means and this includes a 9-5 job as well as long as the nature of the business,dealings of the business and code of conducting the business is permissible. But at the same time we are told not to get so obsessed with out work and earning livelihood that we forget to remember the Creator who blessed us with the job in the first place, who gave us the opportunity to earn. Who says we cannot remember our Lord while at job? Dont give up on the obligatory prayers that fall during the work hours, be aware that Allah is watching before engaging in a wrong deed, realize that Allah can hear us before being rude and disrespectful to a collegue,a client or the boss and just be aware that Allah is All-Knowing,All-Seeing and All-Hearing and we have managed to remember Him even at work.
the Quran says:
[3:92] You cannot attain righteousness until you give to charity from the possessions you love. Whatever you give to charity, GOD is fully aware thereof.
[3:134] who give to charity during the good times, as well as the bad times. They are suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people. GOD loves the charitable.
[4:38] They give money to charity only to show off, while disbelieving in GOD and the Last Day. If one's companion is the devil, that is the worst companion.
[24:37] People who are not distracted by business or trade from commemorating GOD; they observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), and they are conscious of the day when the minds and the eyes will be horrified.
Resist the urge to "keep up with the Jameels"
The Jameels got a new house. But then the Syeds got a bigger one. In response the Sakrs got a mansion. And the cycle continues. This kind of competition for material things is another example of material enslavement. Resist the urge to keep up with the Jameels or anyone else for that matter. If the pressure is too intense, consider widening your circle of friends to those who don't base their relationship with you on how much money you make or how many cars you have.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: A time will come upon the people when one will not care how one gains one's money, legally or illegally. (Bukhari)
It is reported by Jabir that the Prophet said: The flesh and body that is raised on unlawful sustenance shall not enter Paradise. Hell is more deserving to the flesh that grows on one's body out of unlawful sustenance. (Ahmad).
Abu Said related that the Prophet said: The truthful and trustworthy businessman will be in the company of Prophets, saints and martyrs on the Day of Judgment. (Darimi, Tirmidhi)
let us not be a slave to materialism, let us not be blinded by the obsession for money. If we have ample of it, lets share it with the less fortunate ones of the society and spend it well on ourselves as well but do not forget that it is He Who blessed us with it, He may as well take it all away when He desires. spend well on the family and on your ownself but do not go beyond your capacity. If you cant afford the latest model of Corolla then be thankful with the cultus you have, if it's not in your capacity to build a three storey house in the most posh area of the city then be grateful for the appartment you have. competing for materialistic stuff and trying to belittle others by always aiming to get the more expensive commodity then the competing rival, makes us shallow minded and blind to the realities of life. let's just try to improve our standard of living but lets avoid trying to make our standards above those of xyz and abc family. Earn good and earn right and we will all be able to live well and eat right.
God bless:)
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